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New HIV survey finds 18 per cent of gay men in Vancouver have the disease

VANCOUVER - The first-ever study of HIV rates among gay men in Vancouver has found 18 per cent of those surveyed have the disease and most of them are on anti-HIV medications.

The study called ManCount was conducted by a coalition of groups, including the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

ManCount surveyed 1,169 gay and bisexual men in gay establishments in Vancouver between August 2008 and February 2009 and found 86 per cent had been tested for HIV, although the number dropped to 77 per cent for those under 30.

Eighteen per cent of the men are HIV-positive and 70 per cent are taking what's considered the gold standard of drug programs to fight HIV, called Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART.